


New Neighbors in Quarantine

by LavenderandLouisa



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:53:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24297643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LavenderandLouisa/pseuds/LavenderandLouisa
Summary: Brienne Tarth is a young professor at Winterfell University when a pandemic hits the land.  Resigned, but still happy, to quarantine alone in her house on the lake, she learns that her closest neighbors - the Stark family - have rented out their home to Jaime Lannister, who is escaping a family emergency and the more serious pandemic in King's Landing.  Will Brienne regret getting new neighbors?
Relationships: Jaime Lannister & Brienne of Tarth, Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth
Comments: 16
Kudos: 99





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I have decided to try my hand at a quarantine/pandemic AU. I have been writing a bit more during quarantine than in the last five months total, so I am hoping to use this time to work on this work and my old ones (Two Weeks Alone and a holiday piece, Christmas Cookies, though I may hold off on that since it's May...). I know a lot of you write most of your fics before posting and post regularly, but I haven't gotten to that point yet. I like getting feedback and ideas from my lovely readers as I post chapters and am always too eager to see your reactions to not post what I've already written. So I will apologize in advance for not having regular posting schedules!
> 
> In this fic, Jaime and Cersei are twins, but did not have an incestuous relationship. Ned Stark is still alive.
> 
> Credit goes to GRRM for the overall characters and setting and to all of you who inspire me regularly to write my own fics! Enjoy and thanks for reading!

Brienne woke when her alarm when off at its normal time – 5:30 a.m. – and looked out the windows. The prior evening’s snowstorm had ended, leaving a good foot or more of snow on the ground. Even the lake was fully frozen again, even though the winter had been relatively mild. She sighed. Getting back onto campus today wasn’t going to be fun.

It was supposed to be the first day of spring break. Brienne had closed up her office at Winterfell University the day before at noontime, after finishing her advanced History of Medieval Warfare seminar. Given the impending snowstorm and the fact that all of her students were already mentally (if not physically) checked out for spring break, she felt no need to stay on campus until 5:30. She took home a few books and her laptop so that she could continue her research over spring break, but left everything else for the semester in her office. She assumed it would be fine. However, leaving at noon meant that she left before receiving a critical email.

“ALERT: Due to the pandemic, Winterfell University’s campus will not reopen after spring break. All classes will be conducted remotely starting on March 23rd for the duration of the semester. Students must move out of their dorms immediately and professors must take all necessary materials from their offices home with them. Access to offices, classrooms, and dorms will be prohibited after 5:30 p.m. on Friday, March 13th.”

Brienne had seen that email while relaxing in front of her fireplace with a glass of wine early Thursday evening. She knew that Winterfell University had been contemplating all manner of options to deal with the dangers of the pandemic, which was getting worse and worse with each passing day, but she hadn’t expected to be given such limited notice of the final plan. 

Brienne contemplated the abrupt nature of the campus closing as she stared out the window Friday morning. It was imperative that she to return to campus to pack up her office for the semester.

Three hours later, after shoveling her long driveway and clearing off her SUV, Brienne headed back to campus. The drive was surprisingly peaceful, despite being rush hour after a storm. A lot of businesses had already closed or were operating with reduced hours or staffing because of the pandemic. By lunchtime, Brienne’s SUV was fully packed with textbooks, an extra computer monitor, her printer, reams of paper, her office phone, and a few more random supplies that she thought she might need for the remainder of the semester. She had just put the last box into the vehicle and was about to get into her SUV when she heard a shout.

“Brienne!”

Brienne turned around. Her friend Arya Stark was just walking out of the building. Brienne had known Arya for years. The house where Brienne lived had been her childhood summer home and the only neighbor had been the Stark family. Brienne grew up spending summers playing and swimming with Arya and her siblings and cousins. Arya had graduated the previous year and was serving as a coach and personal trainer at Winterfell University until she found a permanent job somewhere.

“Hey, Arya!”

Brienne waited outside her SUV until Arya got close enough to not have to shout, but still a pandemic-safe distance from Brienne.

“You're all packed up for the semester?” Arya asked, gesturing toward Brienne’s SUV. Brienne nodded. “It's a shame, really.”

“I know, but I guess it’s what we have to do,” Brienne responded. “What are you going to do? Can you still coach remotely?”

Arya shrugged. “I don't know yet. We’ll have to see. I told Mom we need to convert the sunroom into a fencing room so I can teach in there. It's the only room empty enough to do any sort of sword-fighting.”

“What’d she say?” Brienne asked. Knowing Catelyn Stark, she wouldn’t be too pleased to do that, but she also tried to support her children’s interests as best as possible all the time.

“She said we’ll see.” Arya shrugged again. “I'll convince her, eventually. Anyway, that's why I stopped you. She rented out the house.”

“What?” Brienne's mouth dropped. The only neighboring house on her street was still the Stark family home. Her father and the Starks had managed to create a land trust to preserve the land near them as other streets had popped up around the lake and seen some development over the years. Most of the newer homes around the lake were summer homes (like Selwyn Tarth had used his), but the Starks had used theirs year-round until one of the children, Bran, became paralyzed from the waist down when he fell while trying to free solo a rock face nearby. It was too difficult to make the old house wheelchair-accessible, so they moved into a modern home closer to downtown and all of his doctors. They kept the house for summer use and parties (the older children could use it with friends and as Bran got older, he could navigate parts of the first floor on his own), so never before had they rented it out. Brienne was shocked.

“Yeah. It happened really fast. She'll probably call you herself, but she's been so busy figuring out how to adapt the university to the pandemic that she probably hasn't had time.”

Cat was a dean at the university; it made sense that she was too preoccupied to tell Brienne about her new neighbors.

“She rented it to someone Dad knew down in King’s Landing. His college roommate’s brother-in-law or something. There was some sort of family emergency and he needed a place to stay. Because the pandemic is so much worse in King’s Landing, he wanted a place up here. When Dad found out, he convinced Mom to rent him the house. You haven't seen anyone there?”

Brienne shook her head.

“Hmm. Maybe he got stuck in that storm.” Arya shrugged again. “Anyway, I’m sure Mom will call you and tell you all about him. I should get going. I still have a few things to pack up before campus closes.”

They said their goodbyes as Arya headed back into the building and Brienne hopped in her SUV. She drove off, contemplating the idea of a new neighbor. She enjoyed the solitude of living on the deserted street. It was one of the reasons she had jumped at living in the house when her father offered it to her when she got the job as a professor at Winterfell. In summer, she could see and hear people enjoying the lake on the other sides, but they never really invaded her space. In winter, she was basically alone. When the Starks used their home, she never minded because they were like family. But a new neighbor… Brienne shook her head. It wasn’t like she was going to get to know him. They would be in quarantine, after all.

There was no sign of the new neighbor when Brienne got home. There was still no sign of him after she finished unpacking her SUV and setting up her home office in a way that would be conducive to teaching remote classes and meeting with students for office hours via Raven. On the radio while unpacking, she heard rumors that people might need to quarantine for two weeks and that even trips to the grocery store would be prohibited during that time. Not someone to be underprepared, she headed back out of her house to go to the store. There was still no sign of life in the Stark home. 

Brienne’s grocery run was not a moment too soon. The shelves were already starting to empty when she got there. She got the last 20-pack of toilet paper. Halfway through her trip, the store announced that they would close at 7:00 (only twenty minutes away) to give employees time to restock and sanitize. Pushing a cart that was almost overflowing, Brienne headed to the registers to pay. Looking at everything in her cart, she felt a bit foolish. She had never bought this much on one trip in her life, not even when she was hosting the Stark family (including extended family) for Thanksgiving. She picked up a large pizza on her way home (it was the first day of spring break, after all – even professors can celebrate). When she pulled into her driveway, she saw quite the scene next door.

A bright red sports car sat in the road; it was not equipped to drive down the still snow-covered driveway. Two children – a girl in her early teens, if not younger, and a boy who had to be less than ten – ran back and forth through the snow from the car to the front door of the house in not much more than windbreakers. The girl at least dropped whatever she carried each time inside the wide-open front door of the house, but the boy continually held the same small package as he ran around. A blonde man who had to be almost as tall as Brienne leaned against the open door, hands on his hips, his face obscured in the shadows. There were small packages scattered down the driveway between the car and front door, as though everything they packed was child-sized and whoever decided to bring the boxes into the house gave up.

Brienne sighed and got out of her SUV, noticing the loud screams of the children as she did so. This family was going to be challenging. It was a good thing that quarantine would keep them apart for at least a few weeks.

Brienne tried to pay no attention to the family as she carried her groceries and pizza into the house, but just as she was about to close her front door, she saw the little boy stumble and drop the box that he held in his arms. He fell face first into the snow and started to cry. The girl started screaming for the man, who was nowhere to be seen, and pointing at the box in the snow. It was then that Brienne realized that it wasn’t just any old box. It was a cat carrier, and the cat got out when the boy fell and dropped it. The cat was making a mad dash away from the children and toward Brienne’s yard. 

_Crap._

Without so much as a second thought, Brienne dashed down her front steps and into the snowy yard, chasing after the cat. When she caught it and looked up, she found all three of her new neighbors staring at her: the boy was still in the snow, the girl was still pointing, and the man was looking at her with an perplexed expression on his face.

“By gods, you’re a _woman_!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Sorry for the great delay in posting this. I hope to resume the fic full force now!

Silence settled over the two neighboring yards. Brienne hadn’t felt so insulted in years. Yes, as a child and a teenager, and even into college, she was used to being mocked for her height and her lack of stereotypical womanly features. But in the ensuing years – getting her PhD, establishing herself as a researcher, finding sports as a way to appreciate her body, settling into life in Winterfell – she had found herself, and she had found people who appreciated her for it. Even with the worst of her students, not one whispered about Professor Tarth behind her back.

“Could you _not_ be annoying and just thank her? And maybe then you could help us?” The girl’s voice broke through the silence. “All you’ve done is stand around. I never believed Mom when she said you were useless, but I’m starting to think she was right. If you had just hired movers earlier, and maybe had a _sensible_ car to drive a _family_ , we wouldn’t even be doing this. We’re freezing. We haven’t eaten. We were stuck in that storm yesterday, we barely have any of our things, we…”

“Myrcella, that’s enough.” The man’s voice sounded as cold as the air. “Go get Sir Pounce from our new neighbor and bring him inside. Tommen, inside. Go make your rooms suitable. And if you could tear yourself away from social media for a second, maybe you can find a place to order dinner. Once I bring in the rest of these things, we’ll go get something to eat.”

Brienne watched the scene play out in front of her. The boy – Tommen – scrambled up out of the snow, took one look of longing at the tiny cat in Brienne’s arms with tears in his eyes, and hurried inside, still covered in snow. The girl – Myrcella – had a conflicted air about her, as if she was proud of herself for standing up to the man who was presumably her father, but offended that she was reprimanded for doing it. She started to run through the snow between the two houses to get the cat.

“No, wait, you don’t even have boots on. I’ll bring him to you,” Brienne said. She was appalled at how ill-prepared this family was for the weather and couldn’t bear to have the girl walk through a foot of snow. Even the man had on only a light sweater, khakis and what appeared to be dress shoes.

Brienne brought the cat over to Myrcella, and called out to the man, who had started on his attempt to bring the remaining boxes into the house. “Why don’t you go inside? I can get these. I’m at least dressed for the weather.”

The man huffed and said nothing. He continued to struggle to balance a box while lifting another, which kept slipping from his grasp. As Brienne took a few steps closer to help – her kindness outweighed her anger at being insulted – the man grunted, “Go away. Leave me alone.”

Brienne shrugged. Why did Cat rent her family home to _this_ man? She turned away and walked silently back inside. As she closed her front door, she heard the sound of a box falling and the man cursing.

Brienne took off her snow boots, changed into yoga pants, and put away her groceries. She lit a fire in the fireplace and put the pizza in the oven to reheat, then shook her head. _They need food. They need food, and everything is closed._ She took the pizza back out of the oven and put it back into its box. She took a box of cereal from the cupboard, a carton of milk from the refrigerator, and some fresh fruit, all from her newly acquired stash of provisions, and packed them up with the pizza. She also grabbed a roll of toilet paper, some paper towels, and some soap to add to the bag. With a sigh, she put her boots back on, and threw on her jacket. When she opened her front door, the man was still struggling with the remaining boxes, but he must’ve heard her because he looked up. His posture suggested defeat.

“I have bad news,” Brienne yelled over to him. “I don’t think there’s any restaurant or grocery store open right now.”

“Well, isn’t that _grand_ ,” the man replied. “What other good news do you have for me in this gods-forsaken land?”

Brienne took a deep breath, willing herself to be patient.

“I have a pizza, and some cereal for the morning.” She reached back inside for the food and shut the door. Turning back around, she started down the driveway to meet the man at his car. “You can have it. It’ll get you through until morning, but you should make sure you’re at the store first thing. The shelves were getting empty when I was there just before closing. Your kids are going to get mighty hungry if you don’t get anything else.”

“They’re not my kids,” he muttered.

“Excuse me?”

“I said,” he sighed, “they’re not my kids.” He set down the boxes that were still causing him trouble and leaned against his car. If it weren’t for the snow soaking his shoes and the bottom of his pants, the distressed look on his face, and the fact that he was an asshole, Brienne would’ve thought he was the warrior striking a pose in front of her. He rubbed his hand over his eyes and sighed again, staring at the ground. “Look, I…It’s a long story. They’re my sister’s kids. I don’t even know how to begin to raise them.” He laughed, a sad, sorry laugh, bordering on one of despair. “I could barely even get them here. They have very few clothes because the movers…” He shook his head. “We have no food and apparently can’t get any. I’m just lucky the power is on in the house.” He looked over to the house, as if to reassure himself that that was true. “And with this,” he said, waiving his right hand around in front of him, “I’m hardly able to move any of these boxes, regardless of how small they are.”

“Can you take this?” Brienne asked, gesturing with the pizza and bag of groceries. She wasn’t sure how close to get to him; the pandemic was bad enough in Winterfell, but if he came from King’s Landing, who knows how contagious he was. “Go inside and eat. I’ll get the boxes.”

The man nodded and took a step forward. “May I?” Brienne nodded back and reached out as far as she could to hand the man the food. He took it and carefully walked through the snow down his driveway to the house without even as much as a thank you.

Brienne shook her head. This man was a nightmare. She thanked the gods that the pandemic was a good excuse not to get to know him, and not to get sucked into the drama that was apparently his family life.

Resigning herself to moving more things for the evening, Brienne started carrying the remaining boxes into the house. Each time she opened the front door to set down the boxes, there was silence. The final time, she heard the children.

“Pizza!!! Our favorite!”

Brienne smiled. At least something could make their day. She turned around and left without bothering them, shutting the door firmly behind her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brienne continues to get to know her new neighbors, as best as possible in a pandemic and when the neighbors are a nightmare of the worst possible kind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi friends! I know I don't write very often (as in, it's been four months since my last chapter went up!), but want to thank those of you are starting the story fresh today, or those of you who remembered my story from months ago and have stuck in there with me. I would like to say that I will post more regularly, but I can't make any promises. Finding balance in my life is one of my never-ending struggles! Thank you to @fightuntilyoucan for always encouraging me to write (even though she doesn't follow GOT at all!) and writing with me today!

The next morning, Brienne woke early and went for a run in the cold. The streets were mostly clear of snow and after living in the north for long enough, she was used to running in the snow regardless. The mask that she had to wear on her face at least helped protect her from the cold, so she did not complain too badly about having to wear it, though it certainly was a strange thing to run with a mask. She left her phone at home so that she could enjoy the peace of nature and felt grateful that when she returned, she had no interactions with anyone, including her new neighbors. When she got inside and checked her phone, though, her worries about her new neighbors returned.

On Brienne’s phone was a news alert saying that anyone entering Winterfell from out of state had to quarantine for two weeks; they could not even go to grocery stores or restaurants in that time. The mayor of Winterfell was trying to arrange for emergency deliveries of food and other essentials for those who were stuck in quarantine, but this could take some time. Everyone else was asked to only leave their house for essentials, like groceries, picking up food, or medical care. Gyms were closed. Boutique stores were closed. Movie theaters were closed, as well as bowling alleys, museums, and any other recreational places. Dining in at restaurants was banned.

Brienne sighed. This quarantine would apply to her new neighbors. They would have nothing until the delivery services were arranged. She replaced her mask and put on her snow boots, then went outside again, walking through her clear driveway and down the still-snow-covered drive of the Stark home.

Brienne rang the bell and waited. And waited. And waited. She rang the bell a few more times. She was about to give up when the door was yanked open quickly.

“What do you want? Who in their right mind bothers someone at 8 a.m. on a Saturday?”

Brienne was grateful for the mask on her face because the sight in front of her caused her jaw to drop. The man – a golden god, the warrior reborn – stood in front of her with only a towel around his hips. His hair was dripping wet, and there were rivulets of water running down his chiseled chest. Brienne’s eyes involuntarily followed the water droplets down his six-pack – no, eight-pack – abs until they stopped at the towel slung around him. Brienne felt the heat rise in her cheeks as she realized she was staring.

“What? What do you want? Didn’t you hear me?”

_Pull it together, Bri._

Brienne squared her shoulders and pulled herself together.

“Good morning to you, too,” she started. “I’m not sure if you’ve seen the news, but you’re not allowed to leave your house.”

“Who are you? Other than the bearer of bad news busy-body who lives next door,” the man snapped. “Why can’t you just leave us alone? Doesn’t the news say you’re not supposed to talk to anyone anyway, or are you that lonely that you can’t help it? I must say, I’m not surprised.”

That was it.

“Unlike you, I’m trying to be a good, friendly, caring neighbor. You’re renting this house from my friends and I’m determined to treat you with the respect I give everyone, but that doesn’t mean I need to be your friend, or coddle you. The sad truth is that you’re not allowed to go anywhere and unless there was food in those ridiculously small boxes I brought in last night, or the cereal and pizza I gave you last night magically replenish themselves, I have a feeling you and the kids are going to need food. So I’m going to the store to get you what you need. I’ll leave it at the door – ” she gestured to the porch on which she stood “ – and then I firmly intend to not see you again until you get into that stupid car of yours and drive back to King’s Landing.”

Brienne didn’t wait to hear a response from the man before turning around and trying as hard as possible to not just stomp off like an irritated child. She heard the door slam behind her.

_Thank the gods for this pandemic. I can’t possibly be friendly with this man. Why did Cat agree to put such a nasty person in her home?_

A few hours later, Brienne returned home from her second shopping trip in twenty-four hours with her SUV full of food and supplies. She had no idea what her new neighbors liked, but really did not care at this point. She walked bag after bag from her car down the snow-covered driveway, placing them each on the porch, trying as hard as possible to keep them out of the snow drifts that had piled there, too. When she set down the last of the bags, she scribbled her cell number on one of her business cards and stuck it inside of one of the bags, in case the family needed more. She rang the doorbell (three times in a row, just for good measure), and walked off. As she was about to go into her house, she heard a voice.

“Wait!”

Brienne turned. It was the girl. She was standing on the porch, barefoot and in a summer dress. Brienne sighed. Even King’s Landing had winter – though not as bad as winter in Winterfell – so why couldn’t the family dress for the weather?

“I’m Myrcella,” the girl shouted. “I’m sorry my uncle isn’t very nice. I don’t think he likes anyone, not even us. We . . . don’t really know what’s going on.”

Brienne felt her heart melt. What a sad thing for a child to say.

“Hi Myrcella,” Brienne shouted back. “I’m Brienne. If you need anything, my cell number is in that bag over there, the one closest to the door. You can always text or call me.” She smiled, trying to show from a distance that she cared. “But you should go inside now, before you get too cold.”

Myrcella nodded and looked into the bag. She pulled out Brienne’s card and looked up. She smiled and waved it at Brienne, then put it back into the bag and carried the bag and another back into the house.

Brienne went inside her own home, pulling her cell phone out of the pocket in her winter coat as she did so and opening up her text messages. She typed quickly and hit send:

Who ARE these people next door? They’re a nightmare!

**Author's Note:**

> While writing chapter 1, I had such conflicting feelings about my pandemic descriptions. If you told me a year ago that grocery store shelves would be empty and I wouldn't see toilet paper there in more than 8 weeks, not to mention that school, business, etc. would be conducted remotely for months, I would have thought you were crazy. But as I wrote Brienne's journey through packing up her office and pandemic grocery shopping, it was real, as unrealistic as it would've seemed last year.
> 
> I hope that you are all safe and healthy during quarantine. I wish you all the best!


End file.
